No Touch
by Signe O
Summary: "Oh, Bad Wolf Girl, I could kiss you!" A teeny, tiny drabble. Nothing fancy, quick read. Spoilers for 50th anniversary.


**A/N:** I was surprised how much I liked the 50th anniversary episode, but there was one thing that frustrated me slightly; why couldn't ten and eleven be allowed to see "Rose"!? So, I wrote a small drabble. It's not supposed to be amazing or anything, just a small exploration about how a tiny moment could have gone. Oh, and for disclaimer's sake: I do not own Doctor Who. If I did, Rose and 11 would be making babies right now.

* * *

The Doctor, all of them, knew when time stopped, when they lost control of the otherwise steady stream. They knew when their six hearts stopped beating for just a second, synchronized as they had been through this adventure. They knew when their lungs stopped functioning as well, growing in size due to surprised gasps, although there were only two of those. The third (or rather the ninth) of them had seen her all day, after all.

"Oh, Bad Wolf Girl, I could kiss you!"

The older Doctors, who looked younger, froze, as their counterpart praised a girl with a too-familiar name. The one with the great hair opened his mouth to speak, to question his younger (but older-looking) self about the name. But she beat him to the punch. Bad Wolf. Rose Tyler: "Yeah, that's gonna happen."

Great Hair Doctor turned on his heels slowly, subconsciously running a hand through his hair to mess it up (it was the gravity-defying state she had always liked the most). And there she sat, a big, satisfied grin on her lips. Oh, he should have seen this coming. No one else could have made this happen; no one else could save him and his hearts like her.

"Rose."

That was when her eyes met his, and he was captured, not in her usual chocolate, but in her deep darkness that was only lit up by tiny speckles of gold. "You did something," she whispered, but he knew it wasn't to him. Not this him. "You did something, and now they can see me too." Her gaze flickered to the War-Doctor behind him, but it quickly returned to him.

Before Great Hair Doctor knew what he was doing, he reached out for her. Behind him, he could hear Bow Tie swallow, so quiet was the room. For some reason, it was a comfort to know that he would never get over this girl. It meant that he wasn't silly. It meant that what they had was real.

But she stopped him with only a few words, before he could touch her hand. "Only a projection, no touch." Uncomfortable memories flittered through his mind, but he managed a broken laugh. A sob, really. She smiled gently, knowing the impact of her words. "I'm not Rose Tyler," she continued, a little more harshly. "I am Bad Wolf, a projection of her, serving as-"

"-the consciousness of The Moment," Bow Tie and Bad Wolf finished together, and her eyes flickered to his green. Bow Tie Doctor (or Cool-Doctor, as he nicknamed himself at the moment) felt his hearts simultaneously leap in joy and break and crack and turn into dust. Because he had allowed himself to forget her, just as he had forgotten War-him, as if she was as shameful as his violent past. The truth was that she was not shameful, but simply too heartbreaking.

With a blink, she suddenly stood right in front of him. He tried not to embrace her, but it was hard. Four hundred years without her, and he didn't even get a hug when she was finally here. "I still miss you." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, but he let them be, and didn't try to take them back.

For a second, he really thought she was going to hug him or cup his face in her hand. Instead, she only looked at him with pity and regret. "I know. She misses you too. I can tell. But she's happy, and that's what matters." The last sentence is added with a strict, almost motherly undertone. Bad Wolf has a clear message: Do not go looking for Rose Tyler. Normally, Doctor would not listen to such warnings, but this one was different. If staying away meant a good life for her, then stay away he would.

Nodding to show his agreement, he stepped back. "Gentlemen," he began, clearing his throat, and tried to ignore the look his previous regeneration was giving Rose, "and girls and," he hesitated for a second, "Wolves...we have work to do. Let's get to it, shall we?"


End file.
